I like comics. I mean, I really like comics. If he asked me to, I would have Alan Moore’s love child. I don’t like Drippytown 5. This is a comic zine showcasing a variety of different writers and artists, but what you get is one mystifying set of characters and situations after another. Many of the stories feel unsatisfying, unfinished or, well, pointless. “Convenience Stories” by Al Knight is one exception, but it’s a strange addition to this collection. It’s a series of anecdotes told from the perspective of a convenience store clerk, and it’s just as rambling and pointless as the rest, but the medium and subject matter make up for it. It’s a rough slog through the rest of the first half of the book, and then things pick up about half-way through with “Lil’ Akira” and Kliph Nesteroff’s essay on Christian Archie comics. But after this brief moment of joy, things go downhill again quickly. All in all, this is not a comic collection for people who love comics, and it can hardly be recommended to those who don’t. (J. Blackmore)
Comic, Drippytown Manufacturing Concern, issue 5, $5.00, 77229 Curragh Ave, Burnaby, BC V5J 4W1, drippytown.com